


Not in Our Stars, but in Ourselves

by pollybywater



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-05-30
Updated: 2008-05-30
Packaged: 2017-10-17 20:05:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/180703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pollybywater/pseuds/pollybywater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What Jim and Blair need is no-fault Simon insurance...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not in Our Stars, but in Ourselves

“We’re doomed,” Jim said gloomily.

Blair rolled his eyes, holding back an automatic “Duh!” with some effort, Jim noticed.

“Simon’s gonna read us the riot act,” Jim said next, stealing another sideways glance at Blair’s face.

Blair shook his head and sighed – clearly thinking ‘you poor fool’ as he turned to look at Jim.

“Oh, it’ll be worse than that. ‘Go to Wenatchee. Pick up the prisoner. Bring him straight back. No hijackings, drug runners, redheads, blondes, explosions or car crashes. You got that?’”

Jim blinked at Blair’s deadly accurate imitation of their boss, his stomach sinking as he realized how completely he and Blair had managed to ... not follow those orders.

“It wasn’t our fault.”

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that,” their irritated prisoner griped from the cell next to theirs.

The jail cell.

In Leavenworth – which should have been a clue – Washington. They’d lost their IDs, badges, service weapons, and most of their clothes, for that matter, having been supplied with virulent orange scrub tops and cheap, scratchy blankets.

...because they’d been half naked when the local authorities had pulled them out of the river

...and damned lucky to get out with their lives when that boathouse exploded

...which happened after they’d stumbled over a meth lab while chasing their prisoner

...who’d had his accomplices carjack them in Cashmere and who might have gotten away altogether

...if only the meth cookers hadn’t taken them _all_ hostage.

Jim really couldn’t see how any of it was _their_ fault. Exactly.

In the cell across the corridor, said two accomplices – one redhead, one blond – glared democratically at all three of them and kept silent.

“Shut up, Colby. This whole thing is _your_ fault,” Jim snarled half-heartedly, adjusting the blanket around his shoulders.

“Hey, be fair, man, the car crash, that was all on you,” Blair pointed out unhelpfully. “Rear-end collisions are always considered the fault of-“

“Shut up, Sandburg.”

“Hey, Jim, did you know the phrase ‘riot act’ dates back to 1714? King George the first-“

“Shut up, Sandburg,” Colby said, falling off his cot in terror when Jim lunged in his direction, barred wall notwithstanding. “Shit, Ellison-“

“ _You’d_ better shut up, Colby. We aren’t going to be in here forever.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Crazy bastard.” The prisoner flipped them off, crawling back onto his bunk and pointedly facing away from both Jim and Blair.

The outer door opened and a pot-bellied deputy came down the corridor, opening their cell.

“Your prints came back. I guess you boys are who you say you are,” the deputy said a bit regretfully.

“Well, God save the King,” Jim muttered under his breath and watched Blair hide a grin.

“Sorry for the mix-up and all. Your captain said to tell you he’s on his way.”

“Oh, shi- Sure, thanks, Deputy.”

“We’ll hang onto your prisoner until he gets here,” the deputy added with unwarranted – in Jim’s opinion - glee. “Guess you need to go give your statements on the other suspects, too. Shouldn’t take you more than ... oh, an hour or two. Or three.”

It was Jim’s turn to sigh.

“It could be worse,” Blair muttered as they followed the deputy out of Holding.

“How, exactly? Simon said the last time that if this happened again we’d end up in Patrol for a month.”

“At least we’ll be back in Cascade.”

“Uh, just how often does this kind of thing happen to you boys?” The curious deputy asked.

“We haven’t had the nerve to average it out,” Jim admitted.

Blair just laughed.


End file.
